TALENT FOR TOMORROW
Passionate- Dr Nichole Munro believes further education colleges ' reasonably expected ' the increase in budget to be more like 2 %.
Power up!
A
courageous, tenacious and passionate education leader on Teesside has spoken out about the“ paltry” 0.5 % increase to the funding rate for 16 to 19-year-olds, which was recently announced by the Department for Education.
Dr Nichole Munro, CEO of Atomix Educational Trust, was featured in FE Week talking about how the low budget increase has created a " growing sense of dislocation " across the post-16 education sector.
Describing the“ planning crisis” created by the 0.5 % announcement, Dr Munro said further education colleges“ reasonably expected” the increase in budget to be more like 2 %.
“ The shift to 0.5 % has therefore not only reduced real-terms funding but has disrupted the basis on which financial planning decisions were made,” says the outspoken leader.
“ This creates significant challenge- budget-setting processes that are designed to be forward-looking are now being forced into reactive calibration.“ In practice, this means revisiting staffing models, renewing curriculum plans and reconsidering previously board-approved growth strategies, often part way through the academic and financial year.
“ For some educational organisations, this has already resulted in substantial funding gaps.”
Dr Munro says these gaps are not theoretical but“ material, immediate and operational”, necessitating the use of reserves, delayed investment decisions and increasing constraints on the ability to respond to student demand.
A-Level electronics among new course offering at Teesside trust, despite funding challenge
“ Where growth had been planned, particularly in areas of high needs or rising student populations, providers are now having to pause or scale back activity,” Dr Munro warns.
Despite such challenges, colleges within Atomix Educational Trust continue to provide a broad choice of vocational and traditional courses.
Stockton Sixth Form College has received a record number of applicants in 2026 for courses including its aviation operations BTEC Level 3 and extended diploma.
The course benefits from worldleading industry partnerships and students can experience everything from flight simulators to a classroom that incorporates a real plane cabin to enhance their learning.
This forward-thinking approach is not limited to aviation operations, as the college also offers T-Levels in adult nursing and engineering in addition to traditional A-Levels in everything from art to science.
New for 2026 is also the college’ s early childhood development and mental health AAQs and A-Level in Spanish, which has been brought back to the college due to popular demand.
Over at Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough, which celebrates 465 years as an education provider in 2026, the newest A-Level is electronics.
Others include classic civilisation, accounting, fine art, business and the sciences.
BTECs and T-Levels in subjects such as applied science, sport, digital
For more information, visit atomix. ac. uk
software development and digital support and cybersecurity reflect the growing demand for skills in these areas.
However, life at college with Atomix is not all about educational attainment.
Students are encouraged to participate in overseas travel opportunities and enrichment programmes, such as a debating society and choir projects, to broaden their horizons and experience.
These opportunities are all important to Dr Munro, who left school with few qualifications, boarded a plane to Spain and spent her late teens running a motorbike shop and car rental business.“ I have never let anything stop me,” she says.“ If you want something enough, you make it happen.”
It’ s this attitude that Dr Munro hopes to instil into students at Atomix Educational Trust, which also includes Errington Primary School in Marske and Bishopton Pupil Referral Unit( PRU) in Billingham.
Her belief – that education must belong to everyone – still anchors her leadership, which is why she is so passionate about what she perceives as the current government ' s lack of investment in further education.
“ As the sector continues to adapt, there’ s a growing need for honest dialogue about the relationship between funding levels, policy ambition and delivery expectations,” says Dr Munro.
“ Providers like Atomix are ready to engage in that conversation- but it must be grounded in the reality of what is happening in institutions today, not just in high-level policy aspirations.”
91